


I'll Follow You

by toomanysunkenships



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Abigail Hobbs Lives, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Hipsters, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Will and Hannibal meet before they are introduced, hipster AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-03 19:13:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8726911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toomanysunkenships/pseuds/toomanysunkenships
Summary: Will sees a very attractive man while in line at his favorite coffee shop.The man sees Will, it is according to his design.





	

"..come out of the woods by choice," Will sang under his breath while waiting in line behind possibly the most annoying person in the world at Only the Best coffeehouse.

His satchel swung against his hip while he wrestled his phone out of the pocket of his (perhaps a bit too tight) skinny jeans. Will knew that perhaps he should have sized up, but these were the last pair in the exact shade of navy blue that matched the trim of his favorite sweater. It was necessary and only now was Will beginning to curse necessity. Finally the phone sprang free. People who berated baristas for things that aren't their fault (what idiot doesn't wait for a latte to cool, anyway? She deserved the mocha splashes on her admittedly adorable sweater) deserve to be blogged about. Especially when the girl behind the counter looking flustered and upset happened to be Will's closest friend. Will pressed his finger against the Tumblr widget as the line moved up a slot.

Will tightened the strap against his chest. He had papers to grade but he could not start without coffee. No, some things a person just couldn't read about without a little help from King Coffee. He typed furiously with one elbow tucked to hold the stack of papers underneath his arm. The door banged suddenly and Will looked up to see the "It's Only the Best!" sign knocking against glass. A tall, handsome man walked away from it with one hand threading through long asymmetrical locks. Will decided to blog about him too.

A quick press of a button and Will had a picture to look at. Pictures, he had long ago decided, were far less creepy than staring. The man's bowtie complimented his sweater vest perfectly. Will wished he could pull off a sweater vest, but his short, curly mop of black hair was only suitable for cat sweaters and reminding everyone what Blaine Anderson looked like without hair gel.

Glee was Will's guilty pleasure.

But anyway, Will wanted to wear bowties. He wanted to-

There was something off about the photo. Arrogance. _Awareness_.

He noticed.

Will clicked post and slid up to the counter.

"Hey, Will. The usual?" the barista, and Will's closest friend, said.

"Yeah, Abby. Extra toffee almond this time, would you? I'm swamped," Will said.

She smiled at him. Will decided putting his phone away wasn't worth his hand. He went to his table, the one in the corner with the softest chair and the closest proximity to the outlet, to plug in his phone and then pulled out the Walkman he ironically bought two years ago but ended up in love with.

The disheveled stack of papers went onto the table and he pulled his pen from behind his ear.

"Teddy Graham!" a familiar voice breathed in his ear.

"Do you work here too, now, Tobias?" Will asked without looking up from the first of many ungraded essays.

Tobias usually hopped from job to job when lessons were slow, but Will thought he had finally settled into the music shop.

"No, just here to get my coffee. Here's yours, I grabbed it for you," Tobias said.

Will smiled up at him gratefully and took the much needed drink. Tobias winked before leaving the shop.  
Will went back to his papers. He'd gotten three done when the space beside him was filled. He looked up, expecting to see Tobias had decided to come back, or perhaps Abigail on break, and was met with a neatly tied bowtie.

_Him._

"I see you have a tumblr," the man said.

Will panicked a bit and snatched his phone up.

Rule number one: _never leave the evidence in the open._

He'd never been good with rules, but he should have been able to handle that one.

"I'd like to follow you," the man said.

His voice was low and had a cadence to it that drew Will in. It didn't hurt that he was handsome.

"Do.. you realize how that sounds?" Will asked, leaning in.

"From your description of me, I don't think you'd mind," he said.

Will turned his head slightly away. It's a wonder they let him back on the field, with the way he handled human conversation.

"Will Graham," Will said.

"Hannibal Lecter," Hannibal said.

Will took a breath in. It was such an enchanting name, the kind only given to storybook characters he'd like to throw himself at.

"Here. I'll…" Will reached for Hannibal's phone.

It was willingly given. Will wondered if he would give his phone to a stranger. He didn't wonder long for Hannibal disarmed him with a smile and gently took it from him.

Will suddenly wished he hadn't worn the sweater Abigail bought him last Christmas (it was warm and baby blue, only Will's favorite thing, but the cup of coffee with the mustache shaped steam above it didn't scream "attractive".)

He managed to only misspell his url twice and quickly, before he lost his nerve, add his number and text himself.

~ **I'll follow you ~**

Hannibal looked up from Will's phone with a soft laugh. His phone buzzed in Will's hands.

* **And I you***

Will may have blushed a teensy bit. They traded phones again.

"What are you listening to?" Hannibal asked.

"Hopeless Wanderer on repeat. It's my latest favorite," Will said.

Will downed the rest of his latte. Hannibal smiled.

"I'm actually quite fond of Taylor Swift, myself," he said.

"Are you?" Will asked.

Will thought Hannibal was old enough that he'd think everything Will liked, especially Taylor Swift songs, was ridiculous.

He couldn't say he wasn't glad to be proved wrong.

Hannibal checked his watch.

He wore a watch _and_ owned a smartphone. For some reason that made Will smile.

"I was planning on making an eggplant risotto for lunch, but I'd like to talk to you," Hannibal said.

"Me," Will said incredulously.

"Why don't you join me?" Hannibal asked.

Why indeed. The notion itself was ridiculous, but Will was always enthralled by the romance of strangers becoming more. It seemed a great way to die, doing the one thing everyone knows not to do.

Don't go off with strangers.

"I don't bite," Hannibal said.

Will laughed. He hardly trusted anyone, but he trusted Hannibal, and he was eager to know why.

**~Jack, I'll be late today ~**

"I'll follow you," Will said.


End file.
